Fluent material dispenser



July 25, 1961 G. MANSELL FLUENT MATERIAL DISPENSER 5 Sheets-Sheei'. 1

w lik Filed June 5. 1959 July 25,1961 G. MANSELL FLUENT MATERIALDISPENSER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 5. 1959 y 1961 G. MANSELL2,993,627

FLUENT MATERIAL DISPENSER Filed June 5, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 v 0a 50 aw J I United States Patent "i e 2,993,627 FLUENT MATERIAL DISPENSERGeolfrey Mansell, San Juan Capistrano, Califi, assignor toRohertshaw-Fulton Controls Company, Richmond, Va., a corporation ofDelaware Filed June 5,1959, Ser. No. 818,379 9 Claims. (Cl. 222-284)This invention relates to dispensers and more particularly to dispensersof the type adapted to discharge a predetermined variable quantity offluent material from a storage bin.

One of the objects of this invention is to require a preselection of thequantity of material to be dispensed.

Another object is to allow a change in such a selection to be readilymade any time prior to the actual dispensing.

A further object of this invention is to derive the power for the actualdispensing from available fluid pressure systems.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, rotatable metering meansare driven by pressure operated driving means. A toggle Valve assemblycontrols the supply of pressure to the driving means. Rotation of afirst knob determines the amount of detergent to be dispensed whereasrotation of a second knob initiates a dispensing cycle by tripping thetoggle valve assembly to admit pressure to the driving means to causethe rotatable metering means to discharge the selected quantity ofmaterial.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view, partly in section and with portionsremoved, of an embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view, with portions removed,of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an elevation view, on an enlarged scale and with portions insection, of a detail shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a detail of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional View taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a somewhat schematic view of a clothes washing machineprovided with the device shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a detail shown in FIG. 1.

Whereas it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that thisinvention is susceptible to a variety of uses, the following descriptionis directed to an embodiment especially adapted for use in dispensingdetergents into an automatic clothes washing machine. Referring now tothe drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, a detergentdispenser, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, is providedwith a storage bin or hopper 12. Hopper 12 is open at the top to receivea supply of detergent and is formed with sloping bottom walls whichconverge at an outlet 14. The size of hopper 12 is preferably chosen soas to contain a sufiicient supply of detergent for repeated operation ofdispenser 10, as for example, enough to actuate dispenser twenty timesbefore it becomes necessary to replenish the detergent supply. Thegravity feed of the detergent to outlet 14 is aided by the normalvibration encountered when the washing machine is in operation.

Metering means in the form of a rotatable impeller 16 is disposed withinoutlet 14 for measuring and discharging the desired amount of detergentthrough outlet 14. Impeller 16 is provided with a plurality of radiallyex- Patented July 25, 1961 tending blades 18, the outer ends of whichcooperate with an arcuate portion of outlet 14 to entrap a specificquantity of detergent within the compartments between the impeller 16and portion 20. It is preferable that the amount entrapped be aconvenient volume, as for example, one quarter of a cup per eachcompartment, so that upon each 60 increment of angular displacement,onequarter cup of detergent is dispensed through outlet 14. It should beobvious that the number of impellers 18 is purely a matter of choice indetermining the quantity of detergent discharged with each increment ofrotation of impeller 16.

As best seen in FIG. 3, outlet 14 is formed in an impeller housing 22 onwhich hopper 12 is mounted. The impeller shaft 26 extends through a pairof bushings 24, 24 connected to housing 22. A brake collar 28 and abrake spring 30 are connected to one end of shaft 26.

The other end of shaft 26 is connected to a clutch collar 32 and aclutch spring 34 which engages a pinion gear 36 driven by a rack 38guided for longitudinal movement by a guide bushing 40. Clutch spring 34and brake spring 30 allow impeller 16 to be rotated clockwise only, asviewed in FIG. 1.

Actuating means for driving the metering means in cludes a pressureoperated motor means in the form of an expansible chamber 42 comprisinga cylinder 44 secured to the supporting structure 45 for hopper 12 andimpeller housing 22 and a movable piston 46 connected to a piston rod48. A cylinder closure cap 50 is formed with a vent hole 53 throughwhich entrapped air may escape. A stop collar 52 is mounted on pistonrod 48 to limit inward movement of piston 46. Piston rod 48 is tubularand is connected at one end to a pressure line 54 in the form of aflexible tube which is adapted to be connected to a washing machinewater supply system to admit pressurized fluid into expansible chamber42 to move piston 46.v A bleed line 56 is connected to cylinder 44 andcommunicates with chamber 42 to bleed the pressure within chamber 42when the supply of pressurized fluid from tube 54 is cut ofi.

Piston rod 48 is connected to a lever 58 which is pivoted on a bracket60 and is connected at one end to rack 38. Piston rod 48 carries atoggle valve assembly 62. As best seen in FIG. 8, toggle valveassembly'62 includes a collar 70 mounted on a piston rod 48 as by a setscrew. A bracket 63 is connected to collar 70 and is mounted upon pistonrod 48. A lower portion of bracket 63 is connected to a pair of helicaltension springs 66 for actuating toggle valve assembly 62 betweenpositions. An intermediate portion of bracket 63 holds flexible tube 54against a V-shaped portion 65 of bracket 63. An actuating arm 64 isformed with a V-shaped groove 67 which is cooperable with portion 65 topinch tube 54 to shut off the supply of pressure to piston rod 48 whenin the position shown in FIG. 8. Actuating arm 64 is connected at theupper end to tension springs 66 and is pivoted about a pivot 73connected to bracket 63. I The lower end of actuating arm 64 is formedwith a section 61 which is bent at an acute angle to provide a stopwhich abuts piston rod 48 to limit clockwise rotation of actuating arm64 to the open position.

Bleed line 56 is smaller in size than the central bore of piston rod 48.When toggle valve assembly 62 is open, the rate at which pressurizedfluid enters chamber 42 is higher than the rate at which the fluidbleeds through line 56; consequently, pressure builds up in chamber 42causing piston 46 and piston rod 48 to move.

A bracket 72 is secured to the piston rod 48 between collar 70 and stopcollar 52. The piston rod passes through an opening in a bracket 71which is intermediate the toggle valve assembly 62 and bracket 72. Thebracket 71 is a part of the support structure 45. A helical compressionspring 68 is carried on piston rod 48 and bears at one end againstbracket 71. The other end of spring 68 abuts bracket 72 secured topiston rod 43 so that spring 68 causes piston rod 48 to move to theleft, as viewed in FIG. 1, until stop collar 52 limits the movement.

It will be obvious that the amount of detergent dispensed by impeller 16is proportional to the length of the stroke of piston 46. The length ofstroke may be controlled by actuating toggle valve assembly 62 betweenpositions at a predetermined point of the stroke. To vary the length ofthe stroke and hence the amount of detergent dispensed, it is necessaryto vary the point at which toggle valve assembly 62 is tripped. Toaccomplish this, adjustment means are provided which include a knob orselector dial 74 which rotates a cam plate 76 to pivot a lever 78, oneend of which is disposed in the path of actuating arm 64. Selector dial74 is keyed to a tubular shaft 80 which passes through a support bracket82. Cam plate 76 is disposed to the rear of bracket 82 and is rigidlysecured to shaft 80. A truncated conical sheet metal spring 84 isconnected at one end to selector dial 74- and bears against bracket 82.Selector dial 74 may be depressed inwardly slightly against the bias ofspring 84 which in turn, upon release of dial 74, causes dial 74 to moveoutwardly. When dial 74 is at the zero setting, lever 78 engages togglevalve assembly 62 to prevent actuation thereof.

Lever 78 .is pivoted about a cam follower pin 86 which engages the outerperiphery of cam plate 76. Pin 86, as best seen in FIG. 4, is connectedat one end to plate 82 and has a return spring 88 coiled thereabout withone end of spring 88 engaging the bent over edge section of plate 82 andthe other end of spring 88 being connected to lever 78 to cause camfollower pin 86 to follow cam plate 76.

A manually rotatable dispensing knob 90 is disposed coaxially withselector dial 74 and is connected to a shaft 92 by a set screw 94. Knob90 is formed with an aperture 96 which, when dial 74 is depressed,affords access to set screw 94. Shaft 92 extends rearwardly andcoaxially with shaft 80 and is connected to a starwheel 98 which isbiased away from cam plate 76 by an annular spring 100. As best seen inFIG. 1, starwheel 98 is formed with a plurality of spokes 101, 102, and103 which are engageable with a pin 104 connected to a dispensing slideplate 106. Plate 106 is formed with an elongated groove 108 throughwhich shaft 92 passes. The lower end of plate 106 is connected to ahelical tension spring 110 connected to a stationary bracket 112. Spring110 biases plate 106 towards the position shown in FIG. 1 wherein shaft92 abuts the upper end of groove 108.

Plate 106 is formed with an abutment 113 engageable with a toggle valvetrip lever 115. Plate 106 is also formed with a rectangular aperture111. A resilient pin spring 116 is connected to plate 106 and extendsacross a portion of aperture 111. Pin 116 is adapted to engage a pin 118connected to a flap return pulley 120.

The operation of plate 106, starwheel 98 and trip lever 115 is bestunderstood by referring to FIG. 1. Clockwise rotation of dispensing knob90 rotates starwheel 98 causing spoke 101 to lift pin 104 and slideplate 106 from the position shown in FIG. 1. A clearance is providedbetween the side walls of groove 103 and shaft 92 so that as pin 104-moves upwardly, plate 106 moves to cause abutment 113 to overlie thecooperating portion of lever 115. Further rotation allows pin 104 toslide over the outer extremity of spoke 101 and plate 106 thereuponsnaps downwardly, due to the bias of spring 110, until pin 104 engagesthe succeeding spoke 2. This downward or returnmovement causes abutment113 to rotate lever 115 in a counterclockwise direction to actuatetoggle valve assembly 62 from the closed position to the open position.

Pulley 120 is mounted upon a shaft 122 which in turn is connected to aflap or trapdoor 124 disposed beneath outlet 14 above a mixing chamber126. Pulley 120 is connected to piston rod 48 through frictional clutchmeans in the form of a pivoted bar 128 biased into engagement withpulley 120 by a leaf spring 130. Bar 128 is pivoted upon bracket 72 andmoves with piston rod 48.

Upward movement of spring 116 rotates pulley 120 counterclockwise, asviewed in FIG. 1, causing clutch bar 123 to slip. Subsequent outwardmovement of piston 46 and rod 48 tends to rotate pulley 120 in aclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 6, until door 124 en gages stopmeans (not shown), after which clutch bar 128 slips against pulley 120.Subsequent inward movement of rod 48 causes bar 128 to rotate pulley 120and door 124- to the closed position, indicated by the solid lines inFIG. 6. A

A water inlet tube 132 is connected to hopper 12 and terminates at itslower end in mixing chamber 126. A bafile 134 is disposed in the path ofwater flowing through inlet tube 132 to prevent the water from strikingthe outlet 14 and causing calting of the detergent therein. Mixingchamber 126 communicates with an outlet tube 135 which is adapted todischarge the slurry of water and detergent into the washing tub orchamber. Lever 58 is provided with an arm 136 having beveled pin 138mounted adjacent the outer extremity for cooperation with an arm 140 ofcam plate 76.

Arm 136, pin 138 and arm 140 provides means for automatically resettingthe selector dial 74 to the zero position, in a manner best understoodby reference to FIG. 5. The solid lines represent the zero positionwherein pin 133 engages arm 140 to prevent accidental rotation ofselector dial 74. To set the amount of detergent to be dispensed, it isnecessary to depress dial 74 against the bias of spring 84 until arm 140disengages pin 138 whereupon dial 74 may be rotated to the desiredsetting. Rotation of plate 76 causes arm 140 to move between arm 136 andthe portion of lever 58 connected to rack 38.

For the purposes of illustration, the position of plate 76 correspondingto the desired setting is indicated by the dotted lines in FIG. 5.Subsequent actuation of the toggle valve assembly 62 causes lever 58 andarm 136 to move in a clockwise direction causing arm 136 to slide overarm 140 until arm 136 reaches the dotted position. This positioncorresponds to the point at which toggle valve assembly 62 is tripped toallow piston rod 48 to move inwardly. This inward movement rotates arm136 counterclockwise causing pin 138 to engage arm 140 and rotate camplate 7 6 and selector dial 74 clockwise until it reaches the Zeroposition.

As illustrated somewhat schematically in FIG. 7, dispenser 10 may bemounted within a washing machine so that hopper 1-2 is beneath atrapdoor 144 through which detergent may be added to hopper 12. Selectordial 74 and dispenser knob 90 extend through the front wall of abacksplasher 146 and the discharge outlet 135 overhangs the washing tub148. A suitable air gap may be provided between the washing machinewater supply system and water inlet tube 132 for compliance withplumbing codes.

In operation, assuming that selector dial 74 is in the off or zeroposition, it is first necessary for the operator to select the desiredquantity of detergent to be dispensed by depressing and rotating dial 74to position lever 78 at the desired point.

To commence the dispensing cycle, knob 90 is rotated clockwise causingplate 106 to actuate trip lever 115 and pulley 12h. Toggle valveassembly 62 moves to the open position to admit water from inlet 54 intochamber 42, causing piston rod 4 3 to move outwardly. This movementrotates lever 58, moves rack 38, rotates pinion 36, and rotates impeller16 causing detergent to fall through outlet 14 into mixing chamber 126.

Piston rod 48 continues to-move until toggle valve assembly 62 engagesand is tripped by lever 78. This cuts off the pressure from line 54 andthe fluid within chamber 42 is bled through bleed line 56 allowingspring 68 to move piston rod 48 and piston 46 into cylinder 44. Theinward movement of piston rod 48 closes door 124 and causes lever 58 andarm 136 to rotate until pin 138 engages arm 140. Further inward movementof piston rod 48 rotates cam plate 76 and selector dial 74 to the zeroposition.

After the detergent drops into mixing chamber 126, water may be admittedto inlet tube 132 to flush the detergent through outlet 135. The time atwhich water is admitted to the tube 132 may be controlled by variousmeans, as for example, by a solenoid valve actuated by a washing machinetimer mechanism.

Whereas the foregoing description is directed towards a detergentdispenser for an automatic clot-hes washing machine, it should beobvious that the dispenser can be used for fluent materials other thandetergents and that the dispenser can be used with apparatus other thanautomatic clothes washing machines.

When used to dispense liquids, the impeller blades 18 and thecooperating arcuate portion 20 should be formed to prevent liquidleak-age between cooperating surfaces.

Another modification of this invention contemplates eliminating obviouselements so that the material dispensed can fall directly from outlet 14into, for example, a cup held in the hand of an operator.

Furthermore, in some instances it may be desirable to eliminate the zeroreset means for dial 74 by removing arms 136 and 140. In such a case,the selector dial 74 remains in the set position until it is laterchanged by the operator.

It will be apparent that many changes and modifications may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. In a fluent material dispenser, the combination comprising meteringmeans adapted to dispense a quantity of the material, pressure actuabledriving means operably connected to move said metering means, means foradmitting a pressurized fluid to said driving means including a togglevalve movable between open and closed positions, and actuating meansoperably connected to open said toggle valve to admit pressurized fluidto actuate said driving means, and subsequently to move said togglevalve from said open position to said closed position in response to apredetermined movement of said metering means.

2. In a detergent dispenser for a washing machine, the combinationcomp-rising metering means movable between positions and adapted todispense a quantity of detergent, adjustable means including a firstcontrol knob operably connected to vary the amount of detergentdispensed, and a second control knob disposed concentric with said firstcontrol knob and being operably connected to initiate a cycle ofoperation to dispense the predetermined quantity of detergent and tosubsequently return said first control knob to a zero setting.

3. In a fluent material dispenser, the combination comprising: a hopperadapted to contain a quantity of the fluent material, said hopper havingan outlet; rotatable metering means disposed in said outlet fordispensing a quantity of the material proportional to the amount ofrotation of said metering means; and actuating means for driving saidmetering means and including an expansible chamber, means for deliveringa pressurized fluid to said chamber, and motion transmitting meansinterconnecting said chamber and said metering means for rotating saidmetering means in response to increases in pressure within saidexpansible chamber.

4. In a fluent material dispenser, the combination comprising meteringmeans adapted to dispense a quantity 6 of the fluent materialproportional to the amount of movement of said metering means, drivingmeans operatively connected to move said metering means, and adjustablemeans adapted to vary the quantity of material dispensed and comprisinga manually operated knob, a cam connected for movement with said knob,and lever means connected between said cam and said driving means forlimiting the movement of said driving means in proportion to the settingof said knob.

5. The device of claim 4 in which said driving means is operablyconnected to move said cam and said knob to a zero setting after aquantity of the material has been dispensed.

6. A detergent dispenser for a washing machine comprising: a hopperadapted to be connected to the washing machine and being adapted tocontain a quantity of detergent, said hopper having an outlet; a mixingchamber; metering means disposed in said outlet for dispensing detergentfrom said hopper to said mixing chamber; driving means operativelyconnected to move said metering means and including pressure operatedmotive means; a pressure supply line connected to said motive means andadapted to be connected to the washing machine water supply; a

. toggle valve connected to said supply line and being movable betweenan open position wherein pressure is admitted to said motive means and aclosed position wherein the pressure is cut off from said motive means;control means operably connected to move said toggle valve from saidclosed position to said open position; and adjustable means operablyconnected to move said toggle valve from said open position to saidclosed position in response to predetermined movement of said motivemeans.

7. The device of claim 6 in which a trapdoor is disposed between saidhopper and said mixing chamber, said door being operably connected toopen upon movement of said control means and being operably connected toclose upon movement of said driving means when said toggle valve isclosed.

8. In a dispenser for fluid material, the combination comprising storagemeans adapted to contain a quantity of the fluent material, said storagemeans having an outlet, a rotatable impeller disposed within said outletfor metering a quantity of material from said storage means, and drivingmeans for said impeller including an axially movable rod, expansiblechamber means connected to said rod, toggle valve means mounted uponsaid rod for movement therewith, conduit means interconnecting saidtoggle valve means and said expansible chamber means to a pressuresupply, said toggle valve means being operable to admit pressure to saidexpansible chamber means to move said rod and said toggle valve means inone direction, said toggle valve means being further operable whenclosed to cut 01f the pressure supply to allow said toggle valve meansand said rod to move in the other direction, and motion transmittingmeans connected between said rod and said impeller to rotate saidimpeller to dispense a quantity of the fluid material in response tomovement of said rod in said one direction.

9. The device of claim 8 in which adjustable trip means are provided tomove said toggle valve means from the open position to the closedposition in response to a predetermined movement of said rod in said onedirection.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,274,212 Thompson July 30, 1918 1,657,761 Novelli Ian. 31, 19281,939,899 Hurlbrink Dec. 19, 1933 1,956,178 Rogers et al. Apr. 24, 19342,387,922 McBrien Oct. 30, 1945 2,793,940 Bennett May 28, 1957 2,808,969Moravecky Oct. 8, 1957

